Howard Beach

Howard Beach is a neighborhood in southwestern Queens, New York. Bordered in the north by the Belt Parkway, the south by Jamaica Bay, the east by John F. Kennedy International Airport and the west by Brooklyn. It also borders the neighborhoods of Ozone Park to the north and Broad Channel to the south. Howard Beach is home to a large Italian-American population, as well as a smaller Jewish, Irish and Polish populations. Mob boss John Gotti also had a home here and the neighborhood gained local attention for being home to many members of the Mafia; Gotti hosted a large, illegal fireworks display in the neighborhood each year on July 4, until New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani put an end to the practice.

The Joseph P. Addabbo Bridge (named for a member of the United States House of Representatives who once represented the district that includes Howard Beach) connects mainland Queens to Broad Channel and then over the South Channel Bridge to the Rockaway Peninsula from Howard Beach.

Howard Beach gained some unwanted attention on December 20, 1986 when three African-American men were assaulted by local teenagers. One of the victims was killed when a passing motorist's car ran over him. The incident triggered a wave of racial tension in New York City and gained national attention. A similar incident took place on June 29, 2005, when three African-American men were attacked with baseball bats; one of the victims was injured seriously enough to be hospitalized, and two arrests were made in the case, with one of the suspects having previously been convicted of assaulting a Sikh he had mistaken for a Muslim on the evening of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

What "outsiders" refer to as Howard Beach is to those who live(d) there a collection of several diverse neighborhoods — Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach (after which a popular line of kitchen appliances was named), Ramblersville, Rockwood Park, Lindenwood and Howard Park etc. Howard Beach proper is a small peninsula bordered by the Belt Parkway on the north, Jamaica Bay on the south, a Hawtree Creek on the east separating it from Hamilton Beach and a Shellbank Basin on the west that separates it from Cross Bay (Woodhaven) Blvd. In the mid 1950's the northernmost section of Howard Beach was comprised of a small wooded area (Cherry Forest) and a dairy farm (Mary's Farm), approximately 25% of the remaining area has houses on it. In 1956 the city extended the Independent branch of its subway system to Howard Beach after purchasing the line from the Long Island Railroad, thus making it a viable place for working New Yorkers to live. There hasn't been a lot available in Howard Beach for the past thirty years.

In 1990, the neighborhood was home to 8,105 people, among them 29 blacks. By 2000, it had grow to 8,734, among them only 8 blacks.

Notable residents (past and present)

John Gotti
Vitas Gerulaitis